A Virtual Universe (VU) is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its residents to traverse, inhabit, and interact through the use of avatars. Many VUs are represented using 3-D graphics and landscapes, and are populated by many thousands of users, known as “residents.” Other terms for VUs include metaverses and “3D Internet.” Often, the VU resembles the real world such as in terms of physics, houses, and landscapes. Example VUs include: Second Life®, Entropia Universe®, The Sims Online™, There™, as well as massively multiplayer online games such as EverQuest®, Ultima Online™, Lineage™ or World of Warcraft®.
It should not be assumed that the utility of virtual worlds is limited to game playing, although that is certainly seen to be useful and valuable insofar as it has become a real economic reality with real dollars being exchanged. However, the usefulness of virtual worlds also includes the opportunity to run corporate conferences and seminars. It is also used to conduct virtual world classroom sessions. Governmental and instructional opportunities abound in the virtual world. Accordingly, it should be fully appreciated that the term “virtual” as applied to this technology does not in any way make it less real or less valuable than the “real” world. It is really an extension of current reality. Moreover, it is an extension that greatly facilitates human communication and interaction in a non-face-to-face fashion.
The world being computer-simulated typically appears similar to the real world, with real world rules such as gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time actions, and communication. Communication has, until recently, been in the form of text, but now real-time voice communication using VOIP is available. This type of virtual world is now most common in massively multiplayer on-line games (Second Life®, Entropia Universe®, The Sims On-line™, There, as mentioned above), and particularly in massively multiplayer, on-line, role-playing games such as EverQuest®, Ultima On-line™, Lineage™, World of Warcraft® or Guild Wars™.
In a virtual world, private communications are very difficult to ensure. Furthermore, identity management is also difficult. Most virtual world systems are proprietary, single-company-owned, both hosted and administered by the company that created the product; all access is provided by client-side software which is also provided by the same company. Nearly all data, content, and materials related to the specific virtual world are transmitted via the owning-company's networks and systems. In addition, most virtual worlds are still maturing, and the focus of existing development efforts has been on general system stability and usability, rather than business-essential supporting processes like security, confidentiality and data-protection measures. The effect of this approach has been a plethora of virtual world-related software, protocols, and networks that have little or no protection against contemporary data interception and invasion practices. In addition, the highly proprietary nature of the environment means that companies wishing to expand into virtual worlds are both unable to guarantee any level of privacy, and are extremely limited in their ability to self-implement a security solution that accommodates their specific security needs.
Existing solutions require many different processes, information systems, and software programs, each specific to a single instance/brand of virtual world, with no cross-world communication. For example, a user who uses both SecondLife® and OpenCroquet™ (two virtual world hosting systems) must create two disparate and unique IDs, and cannot communicate between the two. The solution described herein enables all of these disparate techniques in one unified software solution and information processing global network. This solution protects virtual world residents, not only from in-transit capture and analysis, but also from flow traffic analysis and other secondary analysis risks while performing transparent Identity Management and Key Management including key revocation and challenge response to Identification and Authentication. These features are available across all supported virtual worlds, providing a consistent interface regardless of which specific virtual world the user may employ.